How long have fans on here cried out for a proper DM. A leader, a water carrier (to steal Cantona's line)? To think we would not have bothered to address that area had Flamini's contract had not run out at AC Milan. I think Flamini on current form is more important to us than even Ozil. I think Ramsey's good form is down to Flamini as well. Just a shame we do not have a decent backup to him!
We need a long term solution in the DMF position, I hope we go in for Lars Bender again. But before people start slagging off Wenger and the club about it, most of those whinging about it were also slating the Flamini signing just because he was on a free.
Doubt the club would pat itself on for Flamini's transfer. We just got lucky, not like they went looking for him.
Even Wenger admitted he had no plans to sign him, yet the impact of his type of player this season has been obvious. Fact is we needed more than Ozil, but we if we can do well against the top teams coming up in the next few weeks, we will in a good position, if we strengthen in january. My worry is that we might repeat 2008 - lost a 5 point lead from Feb (after Eduardo at Brum). The young team lost its nerve and we gave the lead away. I really hope that come January even if we are on top, that AW gets teh players we all know he should have got in July.
Last season Ramsey and Arteta formed a good partnership but Flamini did enough to break it up. I hope we see a disciplined performance from them tomorrow in which case they can do a good enough job. It would help if we had at least one recognised winger with a it of pace to put them under more pressure though.
It looks like a DM position is indeed the Wenger's blind spot. A DM that does not attack at the first opportunity goes against all his principles. But Flamini has proved him wrong in no time.. I think if Arteta was not injured, Flamini would still be sitting on the bench.
I think you are all getting a bit carried away. Arteta played tactically the same role as Flamini at the end of last year. You may think Flamini is better than Arteta, I think maybe, maybe not, difficult to say. No doubt Flamini has been a success and having another player to play that role is useful. Not sure why this is a big revelation.
If Flamini continues his form then i'd be happy for him to be the soluton to our DM issue for the next few years. He's only 29 and so still has a few years in him yet and he looks incredibly fit, i think he will be a player who plays until he is quite old. I think we may be more likely to see a new defensive minded midfield player when Arteta moves on. Wenger may not have had Flamini top of his list, but he did bid for Bender so it's unfair to say he didn't want a DM. And it's only because of Wengers link with Flamini that he even came to us to train which gave Wenger the opportunity to see him up close and make the decision he was still capable. I think it shows Wenger in a good light rather than somehow proving him wrong...
The style of play between the 2 is very different. Last season when we were failing to break teams down Arteta used to move away from his position and seeing as our FBs are never behind the halfway line we used to leave 2 at the back and constantly get countered. This season its less so as Flamini parks his ass around the halfway spot so we do get countered less. 2 players playing the same position doesn't mean the same result. Also we haven't had an enforcer in our Mf since Flamini left he gives us a different aspect. That being said Wenger was also looking at Bender (and apparently Fellani) so he must have been aware and looking for alternatives. I feel if he didn't sign Flamini we would have bought another DM this season.
True Bender was the FIRST player we bid for over the Summer. We also showed an interest in Gustavo. The thing is Flamini is doing this job perfectly. (therefore this role has been filled) Obvioulsy a DM gives us a bit more defensive stability but the thing that's suprised me is that when Flamini plays our offensive players seem to perform much better. The little frenchman is very vocal and lets his team mates know where he is and wether someone needs to drop back and help cover.
Very good point. Sums up what we have missed in previous seasons. I must admit, when he came on against spuds, don't remember who got injured, I remember thinking that's it we done for. Really without him, we might not have gotten 3 points in that game. I doubt we have lost this season with him in the team.
Yeah, I think the point has been with a lot of those that doubted Wenger. I remember a couple of years ago agreeing with those who felt you needed to play more direct football and also commenting that Wenger was ignoring the need for more quality defensive players. I didn't think Wenger was going to change, he's had Walcott for ages yet never really tried to getting the side playing a higher tempo to suit him. We didn't see the change in style on the horizon because it had been a problem for years, Wenger seemed to prefer getting beaten playing "the right way" than play a more savvy game which gets better results. It was the same with DMs Wenger might've made the odd bid for one here and there but he was all too prepared to give up if he couldn't find the right player at the right price. Even if he preferred Arteta, it was at least worth buying a proper DM as an option for closing out games and avoiding tonkings in the big games. The centre backs could highlight another defensive problem today, it's not exactly the most athletic partnership you've got and I can see Liverpool's in form pair causing real issues. Personally I think you'll win but I can't see your defence coming out of the game with much to crow about, which would highlight the lack of options you have at centre back. Fairplay to him for making those adjustments though, he's bought himself some time with even the negative guys. If he reverts back to his frugal self and ignoring the finer defensive points then I suspect the knives will be back out though.
